France has a new government. Now it must fix the budget while avoiding collapse

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced a new government Monday, after the previous Cabinet collapsed in a historic vote prompted by fighting over the country's budget.

The government, put together by newly named Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, includes members of the outgoing conservative-dominated team and new figures from centrist or left-leaning backgrounds.

Coming up with a 2025 budget will be the most urgent order of business. The new government enters office after months of political deadlock and crisis and pressure from financial markets to reduce France’s colossal debt.

Macron has vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027, but has struggled to govern since snap elections in the summer left no single party with a majority in the National Assembly. Since his appointment 10 days ago, Bayrou has held talks with political leaders from various parties in search of the right balance for the new government.

Some critics on Monday were angry at Bayrou for consulting with Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, and some argue the government looks too much like the old one to win lawmakers’ trust.

Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned this month following a no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes in the National Assembly, leaving France without a functioning government. Le Pen played a key role in Barnier’s downfall by joining her National Rally party’s forces with the left to pass the no-confidence motion.

Bayrou will need support from moderate legislators on the right and left to keep his government alive.

Banker Eric Lombard will be finance minister, a crucial post when France is working to fulfill its promises to European Union partners to reduce its deficit, estimated to reach 6% of its gross domestic product this year. Lombard briefly worked as an adviser to a Socialist finance minister in the 1990s.

Bayrou has said he supports tax hikes championed by his predecessor, but it’s not clear how the new government can find the right calculation for a budget that satisfies a majority of lawmakers angry over spending cuts.

Hard-right Bruno Retailleau stays on as interior minister, with responsibility for France’s security and migration policy. Sebastien Lecornu, who has been at the forefront of France’s military support for Ukraine, remains defense minister, while Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who has traveled extensively in the Mideast in recent weeks, also retains his post.

Among new faces are two former prime ministers. Manuel Valls will be minister for overseas affairs, and Elisabeth Borne takes the education ministry.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou arrives for a meeting at a crisis centre at the Interior Ministry in Paris, Monday Dec. 23, 2024, following the cyclone Chido's passage over the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte. French President Emmanuel Macron's office announced a new government Monday, after the previous Cabinet collapsed in a historic vote prompted by fighting over the country's budget. (Julien de Rosa, Pool via AP)

FILE - French Interior minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledges members of foreign police forces that help with the security of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE - Former Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls attends a tribute to the late journalist Jean-Pierre Elkabbach in France Televisions headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct.9 2023. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP, File)

FILE - Outgoing French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne looks up after the handover ceremony, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - French centrist presidential election candidate Emmanuel Macron, left, waves supporters as French centrist politician Francois Bayrou looks on during a meeting in Pau, southwestern France, Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)

Alexis Kohler, Secretary-General of the Elysee Palace, announces the names of the ministers of the new cabinet, in the Elysee Palace, Monday, Dec 23, 2024 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron's office announced a new government, after the previous Cabinet collapsed in a historic vote prompted by fighting over France's budget. (Saboor Abdul/Pool via AP)

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Under pressure from human rights organizations and fellow Ecuadorians, President Daniel Noboa on Monday said his government will not cover up for anyone involved in the disappearance of four children who were last seen running away from a military convoy.

Noboa, in an interview with a local radio station, promised answers in the case but said it was premature to classify it as a forced disappearance. His comments came as people demonstrated in the coastal city of Guayaquil, where the children went missing on Dec. 8.

“We are on the side of justice, and whether it was a civilian, a priest, a policeman, a soldier who was involved, at the end of the day, people need answers,” Noboa, who is seeking reelection in February, told Radio Democracy. “We are not going to cover up for anyone.”

The children, aged 11 to 15, disappeared after playing soccer at night in Guayaquil’s Las Malvinas neighborhood. The father of one told local media the children began to run when two vehicles carrying people wearing military uniforms arrived in the area. The father, who was not identified by news outlets, said the children were chased and four were caught and driven away.

On Monday, dozens of people gathered outside the Attorney General’s Office in Guayaquil to demand information about the children’s whereabouts, saying it should be investigated as a forced disappearance.

Fernando Bastias, a member of the Ecuador’s nongovernmental organization Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, said the disappearances constitute “a serious violation of human rights” and called for the prosecution of any military personnel involved.

The Attorney Genera’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A mural of a child and the Spanish message "Where are they?" cover a wall in protest of the disappearance of four children who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)

People protest outside the prosecutor's office against the disappearance of four children who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)

People protest outside the prosecutor's office against the disappearance of four children who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. The sign reads in Spanish "Where are our children? The four from Guayaquil, Ecuador." (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)

Luis Arroyo, left, carries photos of his two missing sons, Ismael and Josué, who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy with two other youths, as he protests with his family and activists outside the prosecutor's office in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)